Study Monster Cultivation System
Chapter 245 - 244 Fun

Fun.

People must be supported by fun to keep living.

It can be gourmet food, games, making money, or even showing off.

Because of these pleasures, people can restrain their lazy instincts and pursue higher levels of joy.

For Li Zheng, the greatest pleasure was undoubtedly learning.

The greatest pleasure in learning was undoubtedly studying physics.

However, even such pleasure had its ups and downs.

For Li Zheng, the most exhilarating moment was the time between the Chem Competitions and just before the Physics Competitions.

The state of wanting to surpass Lin Yujing but not being able to, so close yet unattainable, was probably the peak of pleasure he would never reach again in his life.

A small improvement in a knowledge point could excite Li Zheng for a long time.

An average mock exam with a perfect score could make Li Zheng smile for a week.

He was like a boy experiencing his first crush, a single glance, one conversation, could be savored over and over again.

Every day, he woke up filled with beautiful anticipation for the day.

Every breath felt as if the air was sweet.

Alas, first loves are always bitter and brief.

And too forcefully pursued.

Li Zheng quickly devoured the content of the physics competition and managed a slight victory in the theoretical exam.

The moment he confirmed his victory, there indeed was a feeling of great release, a liberating thrill.

But then, it was tasteless, accompanied by long-lasting loneliness.

The formulas were no longer enchanting, and the problems no longer appealing.

Everything seemed to fall into a distressing routine, even competing with Lin Yujing on problems gradually became a clerical task.

Learning was still the same learning.

Physics was still the same physics.

It was just Li Zheng himself who gradually lost pleasure in it.

He even thought about entering a specialized study phase early, ending the basic learning content.

But looking at those unfinished tasks and the stuck Demonization Level, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

What one cannot get is always agitating; the beloved are always fearless.

Chemistry was no longer that mosquito’s blood; physics’s cinnabar mole also lost its vividness.

Maybe he really was a jerk.

Carrying such confusion, Li Zheng went to the training camp, nominally to study physics, but subconsciously, he was secretly hoping for an encounter with mathematics.

Instead, Gu Jianfeng directly deceived him, causing Li Zheng to leave outright.

Fortunately, happiness is conserved. With Shi Yang’s chemical greeting from distant Prague, Li Zheng seemed to pick up some passion again and eventually returned to the training camp.

This time, he ran into an experienced veteran, Jie Qifen.

He completely deconstructed physics, bypassed the path that had been numbed by familiarity, and blazed new trails.

The afternoon and evening spent with Jie Qifen brought his joy in learning to a second peak.

However, this time, it came quickly and left just as fast.

Afterward, Jie Qifen never appeared again, like a fleeting mathematical spring dream, leaving no trace.

His place was taken by a regular trainer from the School of Physics, sorting out the knowledge Li Zheng had long chewed over and explaining problems Li Zheng had long been sick of.

Along with about thirty other buzz-cut boys.

Even though this experimental class was personally taught by Dean Zhong, who worked on particle colliders, Li Zheng still couldn’t muster much interest.

He just numbly, efficiently, and flawlessly completed each step.

Void of emotion, like a machine.

Suddenly, a kindly voice came from in front of him.

"You don’t need to do this anymore, just do whatever you like."

Li Zheng looked up to find it was Dean Zhong’s gentle smiling face.

"Thank you, Teacher Zhong," Li Zheng nodded, methodically starting to pack up the equipment.

Dean Zhong didn’t say much more but came over to help Li Zheng with the equipment.

Li Zheng was startled, looking at Dean Zhong’s fingers, he was somewhat triggered.

What are you doing?

This is the hand that handles high-energy particle colliders!

Dean Zhong, however, ignoring Li Zheng’s astonishment, continued cleaning and started to talk, "Your feeling is very normal. I went through this phase too, though for most people it occurs during graduate studies when they do a lot of repetitive experiments and tedious work. Ah, it’s the same later on—Ph.D., postdoc, professor, dean—it’s all the same. Science doesn’t have that many passionate discoveries, mostly it’s summaries after countless repetitions."

Li Zheng very much agreed, probably how Shen Yiyun got so heavy.

Dean Zhong continued, "Talking about graduate students or professors, at least they have professional and identity constraints to push through it, but for a high school student to reach this point so early is really difficult to handle... I don’t really have a good solution, why don’t you just experiment freely, just don’t cause any accidents, okay? And the theory classes too, do whatever you want, any teacher is available to help you if needed."

"Thank you, Dean Zhong." Li Zheng nodded sincerely.

"All right, I only have this one lesson to give you; I need to attend to other matters soon," Dean Zhong said with a smile as he wiped his hands. "Actually, I had invited Jie Qifen to give another lecture, but his view was that everything necessary had already been told to you, and the rest would be meaningful only if you discovered it yourself."

Li Zheng asked in surprise, "Discover what?"

Dean Zhong did not answer but patted Li Zheng on the shoulder and then walked over to another table to give instructions.

Li Zheng stood there stupefied, and after a moment, his scalp tingled.

Indeed, a master leads the way; cultivation depends on the individual.

Since I had already mastered the Dugu Nine Swords, I no longer needed a master.

In an instant, a breeze blew by, and Li Zheng’s mind became clear.

He saw the entire Physics Jianghu.

…

In the following days, Li Zheng was completely in a state of solitude, whether walking or eating, he was thinking, deeply engaged in thought.

If physics were a building.

Then Li Zheng’s prior studies had always been about sketching its facade, occasionally stepping inside to look at the decoration.

But under Jie Qifen’s guidance, he gradually unveiled the structural blueprint of this building.

Its steel framework was entirely constructed by mathematics.

The physical imagery was the material of the walls, tiles, and cement.

Now, Jie Qifen had only led Li Zheng to construct a corner belonging to fluid mechanics.

"The rest would be meaningful only if you discovered it yourself."

Li Zheng savored these words and returned to the deepest recesses of his mind, arriving at the starting point of studying physics.

Starting from the foundation, he erected the first steel beam.

The joy had finally returned.

…

Li Zheng himself was engrossed in thinking and mental calculations, unable to extricate himself.

But in the eyes of others, he already exuded a divine presence.

"Beauty God has made another breakthrough…"

"Does everyone at the training camp experience such extraordinary events?"

"I went back and read through Teacher Jie’s lecture notes again… it doesn’t seem like there are any Divine Skills involved."

"Give up, that’s the realm of divine thought; maybe bringing Wu Shu here might shed some light."

This state continued until the final theoretical exam was over.

When the teacher announced the scores, Li Zheng’s name was not among the top few.

Although no one really said anything, many were thinking that this show-off had been all bark and no bite for a week.

Li Zheng himself didn’t care at all, still immersed in his own world of thought.

After going over the exam paper and class was dismissed, the camp members rose to their feet and hugged each other goodbye.

Of course, quite a few people sneaked glances in Li Zheng’s direction, wanting to take a look at his exam paper, but none had the courage to approach and look directly.

However, the male teacher who had gone over the exam paper walked straight up to Li Zheng once class was over.

"Li Zheng, I really can’t grade this paper of yours."

But Li Zheng raised his hand, staring ahead and said, "Wait, it’s almost done."

"What?"

After more than half a minute, Li Zheng finally let out a long breath.

That indifferent gaze gradually filled with a trace of life’s warmth.

"It’s done… I understand it all now."

After saying this, Li Zheng looked around bewildered, as if he didn’t understand why he was there.

Qi Yingnan watched the change in Li Zheng, moved closer from another table, and said in a hoarse voice, "You… have finally spoken."

"Ah, have I not spoken for a long time?" Li Zheng scratched his head.

"It’s been six days; you didn’t even respond to me," Yingnan complained, shaking Li Zheng’s shoulder. "I called you to bring me toilet paper when I was out, and you didn’t hear!"

"I don’t remember…" Li Zheng laughed sheepishly. "It’s fine now, I’ve figured it all out."

"Never mind that," the teacher tapped on the exceptionally neat paper on the table and said, "All your answers are correct, but I really can’t give you any points…"

Hearing this, the others also crowded around, staring intently at the paper.

Indeed, no points could be given.

Because…

There were only answers!

For each question, Li Zheng had simply written down an answer.

"Ah…" Li Zheng himself was surprised, "I don’t remember, but it seems I saw some questions, did some mental calculations, and wrote the answers down… I didn’t think it through at all."

A dozen buzz-cut boys, along with the teacher himself, all felt a chill down their spines.

What the hell is this level?

Reflex problem-solving?

Li Zheng himself also picked up the paper, his face full of confusion, "At that moment, I just felt… a slight move in my heart and the solution came out. There’s nothing to write about… It’s utterly illogical…"

"But… the process isn’t written for yourself, it’s for the grader…" the teacher said shakily, "If you do this, you won’t score any points in the finals, even if you get everything correct."

"I know, I of course know now. I can try to reconstruct the process so others can understand," Li Zheng put down the paper and said, "But at that time, I really didn’t think about all this, I just simply produced an answer."

Others might still have some doubts, but for the teacher, he was truly at a loss for words.

The set of problems was his own creation, completely ruling out the possibility of missing problems or cheating.

Even if there was cheating, Li Zheng himself was the one who got everything right. Who could he have copied from?

"Did you do this before?" the teacher asked.

"No… I just learned it during the training camp…" Li Zheng tapped his forehead, "And I reorganized the physics I had learned; now it’s different… All the physics knowledge seems to have formed some sort of connection… It’s hard to describe this feeling… It’s just marvelous."

"Okay… I understand…" the teacher’s expression was not very good, "Let’s just leave it at that, don’t think too deeply for now. During the finals, you must write out the process."

"Yes, I completely understand."

"Also, you must be very careful…"

At this moment, Li Zheng didn’t hear a word the teacher was saying.

Because a long-lost notification suddenly appeared.

[Academic Fortune Increase Detected]

[Li Zheng: 58→79↑↑]

[Talent Acquired—Mathematical Brain]

[Mathematical Brain: Allows the possibility to transform problems into mathematical questions in your thoughts and to complete possible calculations with terrifying neural efficiency.]

All this came too suddenly, so suddenly that Li Zheng couldn’t even widen his eyes in time.

What is this?!

Who absorbed this?

However viewed, this ability seemed like something for people like Gu Jianfeng, right?

Or Jie Qifen?

But I clearly absorbed nothing.

Li Zheng immediately opened up the explanation related to Academic Fortune.

[Once the Academic Fortune function is activated, you can learn from others’ Academic Fortune and experience their way of thinking and creative insights.]

This means… this time I didn’t directly acquire the Academic Fortune.

Instead, I grasped Jie Qifen’s way of thinking and forcibly excavated the Academic Fortune myself.

Spending hundreds of hours daily, which was initially just for the joy of learning.

And yet it led to such an enhancement?

Great! This is fantastic!

Li Zheng excitedly stood up, nearly wanting to hug the teacher and plant a kiss, hastily said goodbye, and then grabbed his backpack and dashed out of the classroom.

His classmates, however, were not surprised.

A genius, occasionally acting crazy, is perfectly normal.

Only Qi Yingnan felt aggrieved again.

You’re leaving just like that…

How could you forget about me again…

...

On May 13th, as Li Zheng once again stepped through the gates of Lake Ying Middle School, he was no longer imposing without anger.

Instead, he was majestically imposing.

It was probably the feeling of the grand saint returning.

This time, the strength he gained was not just slight.

Although he had already tasted the pleasure of defeating Lin Yujing,

He had yet to experience the thrill of utterly crushing him.

Now, with mathematics and physics combined, a dual force.

Is there still anyone in the world who can match me?

Yu Jing, it’s about time for you to taste what it feels like to be crushed!

With such a delightful mood, Li Zheng entered Classroom 2-4 of senior year.

It was the same as always, a boring morning, some were eating stuffed pancakes, others were copying homework.

Li Zheng greeted his classmates along the way and walked up to his desk, looking at Zhang Xiaoke who was playing with her hair and memorizing words simultaneously, suddenly feeling annoyed.

Every time he returned to class, Zhang Xiaoke would greet him enthusiastically. Why did it seem like she didn’t see him this time?

Or maybe he didn’t see me?

Li Zheng slumped heavily into his seat, proving his existence.

Zhang Xiaoke didn’t even lift her head, just raised a hand: "Yoo."

"…" Li Zheng, feeling even more annoyed, turned his head and earnestly said, "Xiaoke, look at me, have I become stronger?"

Zhang Xiaoke silently looked up and scanned him from top to bottom: "Have you? You seem to have less hair, though."

"What???" Li Zheng exclaimed, frantically grabbing his hair.

Images of various mathematical geniuses then flashed through his mind.

It seemed they all had plenty of hair.

"Just kidding." Zhang Xiaoke shook her head with a smile and continued to study her vocabulary.

"…" Li Zheng stiffened for a moment, then grimaced and said, "What happened?"

"Nothing." Zhang Xiaoke twirled a strand of hair with her finger, answered, and then silently recited English words again.

"Why are you so… indifferent?"

"It’s fine." Zhang Xiaoe flipped a page and casually asked, "Did you miss me?"

"…" Li Zheng paused, glanced at Lin Yujing’s empty seat to make sure it was vacant, and reluctantly admitted, "A little."

"Hah!" Zhang Xiaoke suddenly jumped up, turning around and laughing heartily, "Game over, I win!"

"Damn it! Brother Li, you’re too timid!" Liu Xin slammed the desk angrily, "I misjudged you, Brother Li!"

"Li Zheng, what you did… it’s not right…" Jiang Qinghua clenched her teeth bitterly and handed her weekly journal to Zhang Xiaoke.

Zhang Xiaoke snatched the weekly journal and waved to Liu Xin: "Yours, yours."

"Let me see…" Liu Xin painfully looked down.

"Forget it, I can’t be bothered to read it. Just pick your nails."

"…"

Li Zheng finally realized what was happening.

A betting game over reviewing a weekly journal?

"Is there even a bet on this?!" Li Zheng cursed, "Some habits just never change!"

"Hahaha!" Zhang Xiaoke grabbed Li Zheng’s arm and shook it vigorously, "Stop cursing, stop cursing, I missed you too, Master."

"So…" Li Zheng glared, "What were the odds?"

"Not telling, not telling~~~" Zhang Xiaoke blinked and licked her lips while massaging Li Zheng’s shoulders, "Sit down, Master, sit, I wiped your seat clean this morning."

"Can’t believe it, Brother Li…" Liu Xin beat his chest and stomped from behind, "You actually said ’I miss you’ to Sister Xiaoke… You’re just disgusting…"

"It’s more than disgusting." Jiang Qinghua shook her head solemnly, "I noticed your little gesture and expression before you spoke."

"Oh? What gesture?" Liu Xin eagerly asked.

"Didn’t you notice?" Jiang Qinghua was about to explain but, feeling Li Zheng’s steely gaze, quickly waved her hands, "...Never mind, let’s… give him some face."

Afterward, Zhang Xiaoke coaxed for a long time.

"I’m sorry, Master…"

"Not going to play this anymore, never again."

"Every time I welcome you, I say I missed you terribly, and you missing me once doesn’t hurt."

"No more trouble, no more."

"Here’s some chocolate crisp…"

"Here’s a box of new pen refills."

Hearing this, Li Zheng finally softened a bit.

He took a box of Morning Glory pen refills, checked that they were brand new, then asked, "Really couldn’t tell I got stronger?"

"Really not..." Zhang Xiaoke said, turning to look at Lin Yujing’s empty seat, "But Jingjing suddenly said she needed to cram for math and just disappeared... no idea where she went."

"?!!" Li Zheng’s eyes widened.

She hadn’t been this proactive in two years of high school!

That sense of urgency was strong.

Just then, a strange breeze blew through the door.

Looking with the wind, it was Lin Yujing returning from her trip.

Her hair was a bit more tidy.

Her gaze was sharper.

With a light smile and slightly upturned lips,

she gently uttered two words—

"Noobs."

Zhang Xiaoke immediately rounded her mouth in amazement.

"So strong!"